Invasive Impact Initiatives

🌿 Welcome to Invasive Impact Initiatives! 🌿 We’re transforming invasive species from environmental problems into creative, circular solutions, turning what harms ecosystems into materials that help restore them. Beyond our own work, we’re here to share the stories and impact of invasive upcyclers around the world – artists, innovators, and community leaders reimagining what’s possible through this growing movement. 🌎✨ New content is on the way, and we’re always open to interviewing more people who are tackling invasive species in unique and inspiring ways. I’d love to hear your thoughts on our mission, and if you’re interested in collaborating, let’s connect! 💚 In the meantime, take our quick 10-minute survey (linked in bio) to help shape what’s next. P.S. shout out to @bigvu.maker , love their teleprompter app! I use it for almost all videos I film. #notsponsored #InvasiveImpact #CircularEconomy #Ecopreneurship #UpcyclingForChange #InvasiveSpecies #Sustainability #ClimateAction #StorytellingForChange

Happy Earth Month! 🌎 Join Invasive Impact Initiatives and the Buffalo Global Shapers for Brews & Biodiversity — a Sunday morning conversation about invasive species, circular economy, and the ecosystems right outside our doors. 🪴 📍 Sevens Cafe · Sunday, April 19 · 11am

Please join us in welcoming Lorena to Cohort 3 of Climate Storytelling 2075! Lorena James (she/her/they) is an ecopreneur and movement-based artist whose work sits at the intersection of agriculture, invasive species management, and environmental justice. She is the founder of Invasive Impact Initiatives and works with Nature for Justice to support regenerative, Black and Indigenous-led agricultural systems across the U.S. With over a decade of experience in modern dance and choreography, Lorena explores how bodies carry ecological memory, labor, and responsibility as stewards of Turtle Island. Her storytelling centers land, food systems, and community – bridging urban and rural geographies from Buffalo, New York to Aiken, South Carolina. She brings a community healing-centered approach to reimagining just and regenerative climate futures.

🌿🍻Join us from 6:30–8:00 PM at Free Range Brewing (Camp North End) for Brews & Biodiversity — an evening of conversation about invasive species, creative conservation, and community action. Invasive Impact Initiatives is a community-based platform that pairs invasive species removal with hands-on upcycling and education. Instead of stopping at removal, we ask: what can communities create responsibly and collaboratively from this biomass while restoring ecosystems? At this gathering, we’ll: • Share our mission and why invasive upcycling matters • Reflect on our 2025 impact • Unveil our revised Invasive Upcycling Toolkit • Preview our plans for 2026 Brews & Biodiversity is about more than invasive species. It’s about building regenerative pathways together — over good drinks and grounded conversation. Last November, we hosted our first Brews & Biodiversity gathering. Excited to host more events like these! 🌿🍻

If it clings like zebra mussels and spreads like kudzu… it’s not love. 💔 Happy Valentine’s Day from your neighborhood invasive upcycler. 💌🌿

Happy World Soil Day! 🌱🌍 Today is all about honoring the life that exists beneath our feet, and understanding the forces that shape it. Garlic mustard, an invasive plant species, has a surprising impact on soil health. Its roots release compounds that disrupt beneficial soil fungi called mycorrhizae, the fungi that help native plants absorb water and nutrients. When these fungi disappear, native seedlings struggle to grow, even long after garlic mustard is gone. The impact isn’t just above ground… it’s happening within the soil community itself. 🧪✨ Healthy soil is living, complex, and full of relationships worth protecting. 👉 Learn more about how invasive species influence soil and ecosystems – link in bio. #WorldSoilDay #SoilHealth

🌱✨ Your invasive insight of the day ✨🌱 Japanese knotweed might not look like much in winter, but it has an underground system called rhizomes that can survive extremely cold weather, even down to –30°F. That’s one reason it continues growing year after year. Plants like this are known as invasive species, which means they’re living outside their original home range and can spread in ways that negatively impact native biodiversity. If you’re interested in learning how to support healthy ecosystems where you live, check out the link in my bio to find volunteer events near you. More insights and global upcycling examples coming soon. 🌏✨

Feeling extra grateful this week. 🍁🌾 I had the honor of speaking at the WNY Sustainable Business Roundtable, discussing Buffalo Landscapes: Cultivating Sustainability Through Parks, Plants, and Purpose. I was invited to represent Invasive Impact Initiatives, and it was such a meaningful opportunity to share more about the vision we’re building as our work continues to grow and evolve. I was grateful to speak alongside two incredible leaders: 🌿 Catie Stephenson, Executive Director of the @bfloparks 🌿 Joseph Han, President of The English Gardener and @wildoneswesternnewyork Our conversation left me energized about the future of sustainability, stewardship, and community-driven innovation. 💚 A highlight of the evening was meeting the AMAZING Janna Willoughby-Lohr (Founder and Lead Artist at @papercraftmiracles ), a brilliant artisan and businesswoman whose gorgeous handmade work has been strengthening the Buffalo creative ecosystem for decades. I’m looking forward to exploring ways to collaborate! More to come — stay tuned. ✨ A huge thank you to Beatrice Goldthwait and Anna Attea for this amazing opportunity to connect with sustainable innovators across WNY. And shout out to @stephengabris77 these amazing photos! They turned out amazing, and I didn’t even notice they were being taken! 📸 Honored, inspired, and feeling incredibly thankful for this community. 🧡 ✨😍Peep my LionFish earrings from @lionfishcaribbean #SustainableBusiness #WNY #EnvironmentalLeadership #SustainabilityInAction #EcoInnovation #RegenerativeDesign #PlantBasedArt #BuffaloCreatives #BuffaloNY #CommunityImpact #CircularEconomy #NatureBasedSolutions #thanksgivng

💚Join us at Fonta Flora Brewery for an evening where good conversations meet good conservation. Learn how you can make a difference to prevent the spread of invasive species, and explore ways to responsibly repurpose them to help protect native ecosystems – all while enjoying a beverage of your choice. 📍 1115 N Brevard St, Charlotte 🗓️ Thursday, Nov. 13 | 6:30 PM [calendar invite in bio] ✨ Hosted by @invasiveimpact x @bge.clt Fun fact! @fontaflorabrew and @kudzu_culture collabed to make KUDZILLA, a brew made from kudzu blossoms! 😍🪻 All are welcome! Let’s raise a glass to biodiversity, community, and collective action! 🌎💚 #BrewsAndBiodiversity #CharlotteEvents #Sustainability #Biodiversity #EcoEvents #CharlotteNC #CircularEconomy #InvasiveSpecies

Thanks to some pre-owned items and one of my favorite thrift shops, @thriftponyclt , I dressed up as Kudzu this Halloween, the vine that ate the South. 🌿 Once introduced for erosion control, it’s now one of the most infamous invasive plants in the U.S. 🌿 Shoutout to @kudzu_culture , @afroagriculture , @nancy.basket , and all other Kudzu upcyclers for transforming this “vine that ate the South” into a story of regeneration, craft, and culture. 🌱 Thanks @treesclt , @ssinvasives , and @isactionnetwork for the Halloween inspo! 🎃 #Kudzu #InvasiveSpecies #ThriftedCostume #Halloween #Thrift #thevinethatatethesouth

I had such a great time at the @thetoollibrary attending a natural dye making workshop with Tatiana Ryckman and @ggwny 🌿 We learned how to turn buckthorn berries, a common invasive species in North America, into natural dye. Tatiana showed us how to boil, strain, and experiment with natural color shifts caused by sunlight and changes in pH. We even painted with our creations and went home with zines on how to make natural dyes ourselves 💜 Check out the @thetoollibrary for more of their Circular October events. 🎃 P.S. Remember my invasive flower nails? 💅🏾 I managed to save eight of them for future press-ons (reduce, reuse, recycle ✨), but my pinkies refused to come off, so I rocked them for about a week. 😂 Catch me wearing my invasive press-ons again at future events. Sustainability, but make it fashion ♻️ #naturaldyes #ecoart #sustainableart #plantbasedart #westernnewyork #circulareconomy #invasivespecies

🌿Honoring Indigenous stewardship, resilience, and creativity guiding how we restore balance with the land. From basket weaving to making natural dyes, Indigenous artists continue to show what true reciprocity with Turtle Island looks like – transforming nature into healing with honor and respect. Follow and support Indigenous invasive upcyclers leading this work: 🌿 @invasive_art_initiative 🧺 @nancy.basket ✨ tag others in the comments! Let’s learn from their example – creating art and innovation that restores balance. Invasive Impact Initiatives acknowledges that our founding operations in Charlotte, NC, USA take place on colonized land traditionally stewarded by the Catawba, Cheraw, Sugeree, Wateree, and Waxhaw Peoples. Our operations in Buffalo, NY take place on the ancestral land of the Haudenosaunee. 🌎We recognize that across the world, Indigenous communities have cared for lands, waters, and ecosystems for generations. As we work globally, we honor Indigenous knowledge, resilience, and stewardship, and we commit to learning from and collaborating with Indigenous peoples to support ecological restoration. #IndigenousPeoplesDay #RestorationJustice #CircularDesign #InvasiveSpecies